61
All of the toilet owners said that they see toilet waste as a valuable resource, especially manure. According to them it is very nutritious and can be utilized in gardens and farming making vegetables and flowers grow faster. Many households use the material themselves for flowers or gardening but in three households there is no enough space for that. One household is not using because of lack of experience, but that is the family that moved to the house with the toilet and probably missed the training how to use the toilet. The households were asked if they would need an emptying service for their dry toilets and it was found out that two households do not need the emptying service since they empty by themselves. Three households are not aware who does the emptying but told that someone is organized by the landlord once in 2 to 3 months to empty the toilet for them. Prices vary between 30 to 150 kwacha per emptying, but it was told that 150 is very expensive. The other three households would need someone to empty the toilets, two of them said that once or twice a year would be optimal, and they could pay 20k per emptying, another one said that twice a month would be needed, and they could pay 50k per emptying. (Households, Interviews 28.02.2019, Lusaka.)
Compared to the previous results, it seems that the households have adopted well the use of toilet output in their gardens and half of them were using it, although a sample of the interviews was relatively small, so results might not be comparable. Others, except one household, still were interested using the material, but did not have space or facilities to do that. It became clear that there is a need for an emptying service, for the households who do not use the material, but also for the households that use material, but the amount is just too much for their needs. Households are ready to pay for that service 20-50 kwacha per emptying. It would be important to provide the service for the people in need and formalize pricing for it to be fair for everyone.
62
6 BUSINESS OF COMMUNITY BASED ENTERPRISES
While governmental agencies are not able to provide sanitation for all, some alternatives for providing sanitation has come up. Instead of seeing sanitation as a challenge and a problem, it can be seen as a way of making business like any other field. There are customers, who need service and are willing to pay for the service as well as re-sale opportunities through resource recovery and possibilities of utilizing the final products for gardening, biofuel, et cetera. Several CBEs in Madimba are taking care of different sanitation related business activities. The research aims to find out how the CBEs could be profitable, ensuring the sustainability and continuity of the project.
This chapter discussed the CBEs in the project area of Madimba, but before that there is a look into the business environment in Madimba compound in chapter 6.1. Then CBEs are introduced, and their roles and responsibilities explained in chapter 6.2. It is followed by chapter 6.3. where their challenges are brought up. Then the profitability as well as growth prospects of each CBE is discussed in chapter 6.4. The BMC for the CBEs is created where their activities have been included into one BMC in chapter 6.5. It is followed by chapter 6.6. introducing optional financing mechanisms that could be considered for the CBEs after the project funding will end.
6.1 Madimba business environment
When thinking about business possibilities, it is essential to understand the factors affecting the business environment where CBEs are working in the Madimba area. There are several things having impact on the business that cannot be controlled by the enterprises. The factors discussed are classified as political, economic, social and technological.
When considering political factors, laws and regulations seem to be in place or at least improving when it comes to the sanitation in Zambia and in the Madimba - area. Importance of the sanitation is noted in the political agenda. In the interviews with the sanitation institutions, it became clear that on-site sanitation is getting more attention and there will be more regulations and by-laws related to the on-site sanitation and FSM. Also, tariffs are
63
included in the political factors as a financing method, but pricing of the services needs to be discussed between the parties and will be regulated soon also in the on-site sanitation sector. According to the institutions, co-operation between the CBEs and government agencies is told to be in place and the CBEs are involved in the decision making. One thing giving negative impact on operating in the environment is the rate of corruption. It is quite high in Zambia, so it is possible not all the financing is going to purposes it is supposed to or there might be challenges to find financing because of the reputation of the country when it comes to the corruption. Otherwise Zambia has been politically stable which is good sign for business.
Economic factors are divided into macro-and micro-economic. When it comes to macroeconomic factors, it should be noted that according to the World bank (2019) Zambia is among the countries with highest inequality in the world, 58% of population living under poverty line (1,90 $ per day) and according to the research by Chisanga (2019) 78% of population in Madimba is really poor. In 2018 external pressures caused high costs of debt service as well as put pressure on the Zambian kwacha, which depreciated by 12% in 2018 before stabilizing around 1 USD = 12 kwachas. Depreciation has not affected on the inflation, which has remained in medium range of 6-8%. (World bank 2019.) According to the numbers, the poverty of the population may be seen as low capability to pay for services and in general low purchasing power in the area. But on the other hand, there could be many people in Zambia and in Madimba that are looking for new income creation possibilities to sustain themselves and their families, and who could be utilized as work force.
About microeconomic factors, first of all, the field of business, sanitation is necessary in the area because it is in a very poor state. Many people are lacking basic sanitation facilities, hygiene level is low, diseases spread widely, and groundwater is contaminated causing many problems. It is clear that there is a market and demand for the dry toilets, but because of the high poverty levels, sanitation facilities are not the top priority for households to invest.
Challenges for people to understand the value of the sanitation and some stigma against dry toilets among the people also exist. Pit latrines, septic tanks and sewerage systems can be seen as competitive solutions in the area. Though, compared to other options, dry toilets could be cheaper and more sustainable option, because of the reuse possibilities of the
64
manure and urine. Also, Madimba area is water locked and that is the reason why pit latrines are not good option for the environment, since through them the groundwater gets contaminated. Because of the fast growing population and urbanization, compounds around Lusaka are getting really crowded, meaning that there is inbuilt demand and many users for the dry toilets. It could be difficult to provide flushing toilets for everyone with low costs, but dry toilets could be built more easily to the challenging areas, despite the type of the ground, which is one of the advantages.
When considering social factors, like it was mentioned by the institutions, dry toilets are not totally accepted by the people, especially the emptying of the toilets, instructions on the use of facilities as well as reuse part of the toilet output. Although, according to the households they were satisfied with their toilets and saw potential in the reuse of the material but using it in their own gardens was still relatively rare. More sensitization and awareness creation are needed to increase the interest and also local researches and scientific proof are needed.
The written proof could increase the value of dry toilets and make the reuse part of the chain more accepted and active, and by that way create more business possibilities.
The technology of a dry toilet seems to be fitting well in Madimba, since it is easy to build and maintain, even local materials can be used. The technology of the dry toilets is suitable for areas with high water levels and it reduces the contamination of the groundwater. Also emptying is simple. In the double vault toilets, composting is done while using the other vault and after the time required for processing, material can be straight applied to gardening without need for separate treatment facilities. However, there is still room for technology development when it comes to dry toilets. Currently in Zambia only squatting pans are easily available for the UDDTs, while sitting pans are ordered for a high price from abroad. Sitting pans could make dry toilets more modern and more accepted by the population.
All in all, it seems that the business environment for the dry toilets is quite potential in Madimba area, there is clearly a need for the sanitation facilities and the political agenda is supporting sanitation, taking the on-site sanitation even more in consideration. The technology of dry toilets is good and suitable for the environmentally challenging area. Still, awareness raising and marketing are essential to create more demand and make people
65
realize the importance of the sanitation and possibilities of the reuse of toilet waste.
Challenges in the area are related to the poverty level, since not many households are able to pay for the dry toilets or services, but on the other hand, poverty in the area can be seen also as potentially available workforce. There is also room for technology development. If sitting pans were easily available, they could bring additional value to the dry toilets and could be more accepted by the households.
6.2 Community Based Enterprises in operation
Currently, fifteen CBEs operate within the Zambia Dry Sanitation Country Program in the Madimba area. The CBEs have different roles in the sanitation chain. They operate related to the construction, run the water kiosks, focus on the awareness creation and teaching activities or do some other activities of the sanitation chain. The CBEs have different types of businesses and backgrounds. Some have been operating for a long time and they do other business activities as well in addition to their role in the sanitation chain, while others have been established by the project and focus on one kind of activities only. The CBEs are introduced shortly in this chapter. The information about them is collected through interviewing each CBE. Interviews were held in Lusaka within time period 19th December 2018 – 4th January 2019. Some of the interviewees were speaking in local language, so a translator was used, which may have affected on the quality of the results. Template for the questionnaire is found in appendix 4.
Three CBEs in the area are building dry toilets. Two of these enterprises do not have names and neither are registered. They are run by Mr. Mulaishu and Mr. Mutale. They build dry toilets for customers and get paid afterwards by the households and/or the project depending on the type of dry toilet built. Mr. Mulaishu works under the Ministry of Health and is also affiliated with the government (LSP). He employs five temporary workers. Customers want dry toilets constructed by them, because duration of the toilets is longer compared to pit latrines and there is a possibility for cost-sharing of the dry toilet costs. Customers also trust that the builders are experts since they are trained by the NECOS. (Construction - Mr.
Mulaishu, Interview 02.01.2019, Lusaka.) Mr. Mutale, on the other hand, employs three temporary workers. He provides quality work for customers with competitive pricing.
66
(Construction - Mr. Mutale, Interview 03.01.2019, Lusaka.) Third construction CBE is called “Global Environmental Recreation Sanitation”, which is registered and operated by Mr. Geshoum. He was working for the same dry toilet project earlier but recently started building dry toilets for other projects through his own NGO funded by the government’s Community Development Funds (CDF). He employs eleven permanent workers. Even though he operates on his own, he is still getting some material in co-operation with the project and the NECOS. (Global Environmental Recreation Sanitation, Interview 03.01.2019, Lusaka.)
Related to the construction, there is a CBE called “Mondo Creation”, doing metal fabrication and providing doors to project’s dry toilets. It is run by Mr. Mondoka and it has not been registered yet. The enterprise is employing three permanent and two temporary workers.
(Mondo Creation, Interview 19.12.2018, Lusaka.) The hardware supplier is a CBE that will be called “Anylac Hardware” when it will get registered. It is run by Mr. Anyandawile, and it provides necessary equipment for the dry toilet construction in the area, like sewer pipes.
The CBE has not hired employees yet, but Mr. Anyandawile’s wife will become a partner when company gets registered. (Anylac Hardware, Interview 03.01.2019, Lusaka.) After dry toilets or water kiosks are constructed, they are painted by the “Brotherhood General Dealers”. The CBE will be registered in February 2019 and is operated by Mr. Luckyfela.
Currently, they have six people working; two volunteers, three contracted workers and the CEO. In addition to the painting, they participate in keeping the environment clean and sensitize people as well as supply material for the dry toilet cleaning. They get paid after the work is done and customers are satisfied with the work, which brings in more customers.
(Brotherhood General Dealers, Interview 03.01.2019, Lusaka.) After painting, signwriting is made by Mr. Shimese from a CBE called “Gabriel’s Graphics”. It is not yet registered either. Company has three flexible workers, who they try to engage as permanent workers, after registration. They work for the project and get 150 ZMK per each labeling work done.
In addition to the dry toilets and water kiosks, they do signwriting for other projects as well.
(Gabriel’s Graphics, Interview 20.12.2018, Lusaka.)
67
Water kiosks have been built to two locations in the Madimba area. One was in operation since 2008 but it got broken around 2011 and a new kiosk to replace that was built recently.
It will open this year 2019 and it will be run by Mrs. Daka. The CBE does not have a name and is not registered. Mrs. Daka is the only person working there and even she is volunteering in order to help the situation in community. (Water kiosk - Mrs. Daka, Interview 04.01.2019, Lusaka.) The other kiosk is run by Mrs. Nyimbe, but operated by her daughter, Mrs.
Mubitelela, who is basically a volunteer as well. The CBE is registered under the name
“Water for kids”. They provide safe and tested water for cooking and drinking purposes.
(Water for kids, Interview 04.01.2019, Lusaka.) Borehole installation and plumbing for the kiosks is made by “Man’s field enterprise”, run by Mr. Masaka. The CBE was registered, but registration is not renewed. Currently, they employ ten temporary workers and two permanent electricians. The CBE has received some contracts through the project and they do plumbing installation and maintenance to the households as well. Their income is generated from payments of small contracts. (Man’s field enterprise, Interview 21.12.2018, Lusaka.)
Few CBEs have been established or engaged related to teaching and sensitizing people as well as empowering women. An organization called “Madimba” is run by Mrs. Kalonga.
She volunteers to teach households for the use of dry toilets and the use of fecal matter and urine as fertilizers. She is not generating any income by doing that and has not received any financial support, apart from personal benefits of using the dry toilet. (Madimba, Interview 02.01.2019.) A registered CBE called “Real Time Cultural Group” participates sensitizing people in the community by performing and teaching how to use dry toilets and prevent diseases. It is run by Mrs. Sichilya. It employs fifteen permanent workers, and they perform when the project engages them and they are paid after the work is done. Otherwise, they perform in kitchen parties, weddings, and government programs making some dances and sketches. (Real Time Cultural Group, Interview 04.01.2019, Lusaka.) A CBE called
“Madimba Women Group” has been created through the project, to empower women in the area. They teach each other different skills, from cooking to handy crafts and sell their products. The organization has thirty volunteer members in the group and it is not yet registered. (Madimba Women Group, Interview 04.01.2019, Lusaka.)
68
Previously there was a “Sustainable Sanitation” enterprise emptying dry toilets and transporting the collected urine or manure to the demonstration farm. (Piirilä 2014b, p. 3.) Later, the demonstration farm was not continued, because the plantation was taken for construction. After that Mr. Mwansa started a CBE for toilet emptying, which is not yet registered and does not have a name. He empties toilets and after that the material will be used in gardens or disposed. Mr. Mwansa is working alone and is getting paid by the households and the NECOS 60-80 ZMK per each emptying. Customers contact him when the emptying is needed. (Toilet emptying - Mr. Mwansa, Interview 02.01.2019, Lusaka.)
“Madimba Solid Waste” is a registered CBE mainly collecting waste from the households, but also sensitizing people to keep their homes clean, and discouraging digging pits and pit latrines to prevent diseases and outbreaks. It is operated by Mrs. Nyimbe and in addition to her, two permanent and two temporary lauders are hired. (Madimba Solid Waste, Interview 03.01.2019, Lusaka.)
During the interviews it was found out that most of the CBEs are not registered, currently only 33% of the enterprises are registered and the rest is working informally. Although some had been registered before, but they have not renewed their registration. Most of the CBEs are willing and planning to register in near future. One-third of the CBEs did not have a name for the enterprise, even though some of them had plans what the name could be. The CBE’s are mostly small, some have not even hired any workforce and are just run by volunteers. Otherwise, the people employed varies between one to fifteen permanent workers, excluding the thirty volunteers of the Madimba Women Group.
6.3 Challenges
Even though the area is potential for business and the possibilities for doing business related to the sanitation are there, the CBEs are facing multiple challenges. The type of challenges depends on the field they are working in. One of the aims of the interviews with the CBEs was to find out and understand their challenges, which is essential to be able to come up with solutions to some of the obstacles they are facing. Later, based on the challenges some recommendations are made. Main challenges of each CBE are explained first and then
Even though the area is potential for business and the possibilities for doing business related to the sanitation are there, the CBEs are facing multiple challenges. The type of challenges depends on the field they are working in. One of the aims of the interviews with the CBEs was to find out and understand their challenges, which is essential to be able to come up with solutions to some of the obstacles they are facing. Later, based on the challenges some recommendations are made. Main challenges of each CBE are explained first and then